Cellular communications technology, including radio access technology, has grown rapidly and evolved since the launch of analog cellular systems in the 1980s, starting from the First Generation (1G) in 1980s, Second Generation (2G) in 1990s, Third Generation (3G) in 2000s, and Fourth Generation (4G) in 2010s (including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and variants of LTE). Additionally, fifth generation (5G) access networks, which can also be referred to as New Radio (NR) access networks, are currently being developed and expected to fulfill the demand for exponentially increasing data traffic, and to handle a very wide range of use cases and requirements, including among others, mobile broadband (MBB) services, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services, and machine type communications (e.g., involving Internet of Things (IOT) devices).
As part of the expansion of the cellular platform for new services, and to keep track with the increasing needs of the automotive industry, functionality of the cellular infrastructure is being developed to provide enhancements specifically for “vehicle-to-everything” (V2X) communications, which can comprise, for example, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-network, (V2N) and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications. This development of the cellular infrastructure, functionality, and protocols (e.g., standards) for V2X communications is often referred to as cellular V2X (or C-V2X) communications. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication leveraging cellular network infrastructure can provide reliable, actionable information flows with high definition quality services while paving the way for connected and autonomous driving into the near future. The collaboration between automotive and wireless telecommunications technologies is driving the next generation of autonomous vehicular designs. With the initial C-V2X standards developed in 2017, the LTE platform provides a means to offer new services to the automotive industry. LTE and 5G evolution will continue to further drive the C-V2X standardization efforts to meet the increasing needs of the automotive sector with new use cases that can significantly enhance the monitoring and tracking of driver behaviors, and enhance the efficiency as well as safety of intelligent transportation systems. The development and commercialization of C-V2X technology involves multiple stake holders, including carriers, technology providers, automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and infrastructure vendors, to name some stakeholders, all working together to implement and showcase the benefits and efficiency in the use of this technology for advanced vehicular connectivity and intelligent communications.
Due to its legacy capabilities and a clear roadmap with technology evolution, the 5G automotive association has advocated the use of cellular technologies to redefine and enhance the transportation services connectivity model globally. The first associated standards of C-V2X were introduced in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards Release 14. C-V2X technology is expected to drive the evolution of mobility networks and communications that can enable advanced use cases such as autonomous driving, traffic flow optimization, improved safety etc., thus playing a transformative role in connected transportation communications services. LTE-based cellular technologies have enormous potential to drive innovative connectivity services in automotive sector. LTE broadcast enhancements can facilitate vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, leveraging traditional cellular networks. While standards-based C-V2X supports a variety of operational modes such as vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, such systems and resulting IP multicast/broadcast/unicast services need to be carefully architected to be able to utilize the mobility network infrastructure resources cost-effectively while driving maximum return on investment for operators. These services need to work concurrently with the legacy mobility services to meet the high-performance demands associated with the automotive use cases, as well as have the capability to meet the scale and needs of future use cases leveraging technological advancements. V2I and V2N communications can greatly facilitate smart cities connectivity and control initiatives (ex: traffic, parking, metering updates, cancellations).
The above-described background relating to wireless networks is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.